Okamoto reveals Xbox 360 game

At the Xbox Summit 2005, Game Republic president and former Capcom executive Yoshiki Okamoto announced Every Party, a party game for the Xbox 360.

"As you can guess from the title, Every Party is a party game for everybody," said Okamoto. "Up until now, I was probably known for games that involved punching, kicking, slashing, shooting, and killing. But this is going to be a party game intended for all ages, so there will be no violence or grotesque scenes."

Okamoto then presented a game label that mocked CERO's (the Japanese equivalent of the ESRB) icon for violent games, except that it was altered to read "no violence, no gore." The prank pleased the crowd, which was already entertained by Okamoto's jovial appearance. "I'm so happy about making a nonviolent game that I've created this label. Up until now, all my games were labeled with that sticker by default," said Okamoto.

Every Party plays like a board game with 3D graphics. The player spins a roulette-like wheel and advances his/her piece across the board. According to the trailer, there seem to be a lot of minigames for players to enjoy. Character designs are being done by Sakura Momoko, an artist known in Japan for the popular Chibimaruko-Chan anime series.

Every Party's graphics didn't seem to take full advantage of the Xbox 360's hardware, though as Okamoto has stated in his past interviews, he decided to release it on Microsoft's next-generation console because of its network gaming capabilities.

"I was asked by people as to why I'm making a party game for a next-generation machine, and whether it really needs the specs of next-generation hardware. But that's not what games are all about. Even nowadays, people play old-time games such as Famicoms. Games are, simply, supposed to be fun," said Okamoto.

"You should be able to enjoy as much as you can within your free time, which is what games are all about. As some people may know, I love board games and party games. I love having a blast with other people. But it's rare for people like me to gather together. The Xbox 360 will allow anyone to enjoy playing with each other at any time, any place," said Okamoto.